Hi,my name is Alan Woodcock.I have been bird-watching in the area for nearly fifty years and (bird ringing)since 1980.I hope to keep up to date sightings of wildlife I have seen (mainly birds)with occasional diary entries of past times.

Tuesday, 10 September 2013

In all probability the bird the four us saw on Burrows Pit yesterday and thought was a Little Stint (seen on one of the far islands,so no real plumage details could be seen),was in fact a Semipalmated.

Monday, 9 September 2013

A brief look at the sea produced very little,save for a few passing Gannets.Although good numbers of gulls could be seen over the patch,with the onset of rain the four of us decided to make for the RSPB reserve,where we spent the remainder of our time,mainly keeping dry in the hides

Sunday, 8 September 2013

(6:am-13:00).Clear,some wind later towards mid-day.
My alarm this morning went off at 4:45am and after a quick bite to eat I set off for Sandwich.I pulled up outside the obs at 6:00, just in time for the first net round.
Three of us processed probably getting on for one hundred birds,of which three quarters must have been Blackcaps,the remaining birds were mostly Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers.

The above juvenile Green Woodpecker was caught in the Haven bushes towards the end of the session,where also a Spotted flycatcher had been present for most of the morning,successfully evading the net.

The above Blackcap has fault bars in the tail and across the wing.Fault bars are caused when the bird is in the nest (shortage of food).As a result there is a discoloration and sometimes a weakness at this point of growth.Lets hope the bird makes it all the way to the wintering grounds (southern Iberiia,northwest Africa.